Page 130 - Communist Chinas Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan

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W ith Mao's seizure of
power, the oppression of
the people of East
Turkestan has turned
into a systematic cam-
paign of genocide. Mao
forced the Muslim people
to conform to communist
ideology. One of the first
steps to achieving this is
the way that mosques
and masjids all over East
Turkestan were covered
with portraits of Mao.

founded the People's Republic of China in 1949, all manifestations of
Islam were made targets. This hostility towards Islam began with the
closure of mosques, religious schools and other institutions providing
religious education. The situation worsened after portraits of Chairman
Mao were hung in the now empty places of worship (and Muslims
were forced to show their respect for such images). Some 29,000
mosques were closed during that period. 13 The following stage con-
sisted of the arrest of religious leaders on groundless and baseless
charges and accusations. Some of these were condemned to death, and
more than 54,000 religious figures were condemned to work in the most

Communist China’s Policy
of Oppression in East Turkestan